


Really, Really

by minimumobsession



Series: AOA Inspired [6]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M, bff china line, junhui centric, junhui misses him a lot, shes cute, they have a dog named riceball, wonwoo is serving his 2 years of military
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 08:19:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8242628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minimumobsession/pseuds/minimumobsession
Summary: I miss you even more todayWonwoo isn’t here and Junhui’s lonely





	

**Author's Note:**

> so i wrote this in like 3 hours instead of interacting with family and homework or cherry pop, soooo  
> but really, really is such a nice song, listen to it  
> fun fact: riceball is from an iconic tumblr post  
> and so is blackout poetry (lonely egg successfully rents a house)  
> plz leabe kudos and comments!

Sighing for the millionth time, Junhui buried his face in Riceball’s fluffy, white coat, trying his best to keep his tears at bay. Junhui promised him, he would be strong and stay positive, but it was hard. Riceball nosed her way to Junhui’s face, lapping at the tears that began to drip down his face. 

Junhui’s arms encircled the smaller dog, squeezing the dog into his chest. “I just miss him a lot,” he whispered. “And it’s only been a month.” The dog squirmed at the tight grip and squeezed her way out, settling her fluffy head in Junhui’s lap, “You miss him, too?”    
His phone buzzed and he lifted his hand off Riceball. “I have to go Riceball,” he murmured, slowly getting up. “Minghao wants to meet at a cafe with me.” His hands found their way to an oversized sweatshirt, gripping the collar tightly, lifting it up so he could inhale the familiar scent. Junhui gave no second thought and slipped the sweatshirt on, happily relishing the comfort of it, staring at the name stamped on the back. He quickly left the empty apartment before more tears came to the surface. 

The cafe was bustling with activity, baristas frantically scribbling names and mixing drinks, many school-aged teenagers cramped onto booths, gossiping or studying piles of books, and the occasionally couples, lovingly staring at each other, sharing drinks. Junhui painfully turned his gaze away from them, gripping his cup of sugary coffee, trying not to remember the teasing about Junhui’s various milk and sugar drinks with a splash of coffee. 

“Hey, Jun!” came the shrill call that knocked Junhui out of his thoughts. Junhui managed a small smile and made his way to his friend. 

“Hey, Minghao,” he said softly, placing his drink down carefully and sitting down on the plush booth. 

“How are you holding up?” Minghao asked sympathetically, taking a small sip of out his iced coffee. “You don’t look that great.”   
“Not really well,” Junhui admitted, rubbing at his slightly swollen eyes. “He’s only been gone a month and I miss him like crazy.”

Minghao reached across the table, patting Junhui’s arm. “I know, I know,” he cooed as Junhui started breaking down again.

“I just,” Junhui began, burying his face into the sleeve of the sweatshirt. “Wonwoo’s going to be gone for the next two years, and I can’t even handel a month without everything reminding me of him.”

“It’s understandable,” Minghao reassured. “You guys were basically a married couple, and now you can only write letters and emails to each other. You’re allowed to cry.”

“But he’s out there, putting his life at risk and I can’t do anything about it. Wonwoo literally made me get a dog so I wouldn’t feel lonely in the apartment, and I’m still crying”   
“So? Riceball is helping you cope,” Minghao stated, trying to convince Junhui he was going to be okay. “It’s always hard in the beginning, but it’s going to get better. You have Riceball and me, you’ll be fine.”

Junhui just nodded.

 

Back in his apartment, Junhui wearily curled up on the sofa with Wonwoo’s favorite sweater, lazily petting Riceball who snuggled right next to Junhui’s belly. Junhui couldn’t help, but think if Wonwoo was home, he would sneak up right behind the sofa and drop right down on Junhui, planting sloppy kisses all over Junhui’s face. Squeezing his eyes shut, he took a couple deep breaths, wanting something to drive away the silence. 

The phone rang, scaring Riceball out of the peaceful slumber she was in. Junhui jumped off the sofa and sprinted to the phone, answering it without a glance at the ID.    
“Hello?”

“Junnie,” came the deep voice Junhui had fallen in love with.

Junhui’s eyes began to tear up. “Wonwoo,” he whispered, sinking down to the floor. Riceball galloped over and planted herself in Junhui’s lap. 

“How are you?” Wonwoo asked, emotion slightly wavering his voice. “I only have a couple minutes before I need to go.”   
“I’m fine,” Junhui said, tears silently rolling down his cheeks. Junhui never knew how emotional he was until he started seriously dating the serious Wonwoo. “Today was just a rough day, emotionally. I just miss you a lot.”   
“I miss you, too, a lot,” Wonwoo sighed. “I worry about you, I don’t want you to hold yourself back for me.”

“I’m not,” Junhui weakly protested, softly massaging Riceball’s head. “I went to the cafe today.”   
“The one we met at?”   
“Yeah,” Junhui whispered, memories bring tears. “I saw-” Junhui’s voice was watery and rough. “I saw a couple, they were sharing the couple milkshake, and I-” Junhui’s voice cut off with a sob. “I started thinking of you, and I’m trying so hard-” Another sob. “So hard to be strong, but it’s hard. And I’m being selfish because you’re the one actually serving and-”

“Junnie,” Wonwoo hummed. “You are strong. You can get through this. You’re the one who willingly moved to Korea and leave your family and friends behind and learn a whole new language and culture just for Minghao. You are strong and you will get through this.”   
“Okay,” Junhui whispered. “Riceball misses you.”   
Wonwoo laughed. “Tell her I miss her too. Look, Junnie, I have to go. I love you.”   
“I love you more,” Junhui breathed.

“I love you the most,” Wonwoo said. “Bye Junnie.”

“Bye.”

The line went dead. 

Junhui sat on the cold kitchen floor for a few more minutes, breathing hard, trying to get his composure back together. Taking another deep breath, he pulled himself up, holding Riceball. “Come on,” he cooed. “Daddy’s going to get better.”

It was easier said than done. Especially when he was curled up on their Queen sized bed. Curling his body around the pillow Wonwoo used, he took a deep breath of the familiar scent. Sleep was a thing that was hard to achieve now days.    
He stood up and headed towards the door, nearly tripping over Riceball. “Come on girl, we’re going on a midnight stroll.”

The crisp, midnight air was refreshing as Junhui walked through his apartment's garden. The moon lit everything up with a beautiful blue hue, Junhui absolutely loved it. Riceball was happily skipping around, chasing every bug she came across. He stopped at the small creek that carved its way through the garden to a small koi pond. Riceball curiously pawed her way to the edge of the creek and tried to stick her nose in the cold water. Junhui laughed as he snatched her back.   
“No, Riceball, that water is cold,” he playfully chided, smiling at the time he went on a midnight walk with Wonwoo. Wonwoo had playfully spun Junhui around, trying to dip him into a deep kiss, except Wonwoo’s grip failed him and Junhui fell into the creek, upset and cold. Luckily, Wonwoo had enough kisses and snuggled to make up for it. 

Junhui sat down next to the bank, the moon and a small lamppost illuminating the garden. He watched Riceball play with her leash. As much as he refused to adopt a dog so soon after Wonwoo’s departure, he was glad Wonwoo made him. Riceball was the presence he needed in the empty apartment, filling his heart with just as much love Wonwoo did. 

 

“We need a dog.”

Junhui spun around in shock, ignoring the sizzling pan of vegetables he was stirring. “Why? You’re leaving in a week.”

Wonwoo walked up and wrapped his arms around Junhui, burying his face in Junhui’s blonde hair. “The apartment’s going to be empty for the next two years, you need company.” Wonwoo turned off the burner and placed the pan on the counter so it wouldn’t burn, grabbing Junhui’s favorite jacket, which was originally Wonwoo’s varsity jacket, he led the Chinese out of the apartment and into the car. 

“But-” Junhui tried to protest.

“Soonyoung said there were new puppies at his place, let’s go.”

Wonwoo hid his smile as he drove back from Soonyoung’s work as Junhui delightfully held the squirmy puppy. Junhui’s eyes were filled with so much adoration, Wonwoo knew he made the right decision. 

“You better take good care of him,” Wonwoo whispered at Riceball the day before he left as Junhui was frantically double checking Wonwoo’s supplies. “He’s going to need you.”

 

Riceball yawned widely, showing off her sharp baby teeth that even made Wonwoo cry out a little when she accidently grabbed his fingers instead of the treat he was holding out. “I guess it’s time for bedtime,” Junhui mussed. 

 

Minghao was right, the beginning was hard, but it was getting better, slowly, but surely. Junhui had reluctantly agreed to all of Minghao invites to his work parties, club outings, or even just a small talk over brunch. Sure it got rough sometimes, and he would have to leave early to snuggle with Riceball, buried in one of Wonwoo’s sweaters. But Minghao saw more genuine smiles surface on Junhui’s face, showing off the cute dimple Wonwoo loved to kiss when ever Junhui smiled. 

Junhui found himself dancing more around the house, singing along to the mixtape Wonwoo made in high school with his friends. 

But the emptiness of the apartment was still prominent, especially on the birthdays, the holidays, the anniversary. Especially the anniversary.

Over ten months had passed and their fourth anniversary was creeping up. Junhui had tried ignoring it, busying himself with training Riceball pointless tricks and cooking elaborate Chinese meals that he would bring to the workplace for everyone to scarf up in a second.

Deep on the inside, Junhui hoped Wonwoo would be granted five days of leave. During their birthdays, Wonwoo had only been able to call during the time in between their birthdays. Junhui happily sung Happy Birthday over the phone, dancing around the kitchen with Riceball nipping at his heels.    
“I wish you were here,” he remarked. “I bought a cake from  _ Honey Pig _ and some doggy ice cream for Riceball.”

Wonwoo softly laughed, eyes softening so much. His friends always teased him about being a sap when on the phone with Junhui, adoringly smiling with bright eyes, emotions he hid during the day. “Well, you better eat enough for the two of us.”

“I will,” Junhui eagerly replied, plugging Wonwoo’s mixtape into the speakers. 

“Oh, no, you’re not listening to that trash are you?” Wonwoo teased.

“Why not? It’s cute.”

“I hate you,” Wonwoo said, oh-so fondly.

  
It was their anniversary and Junhui was not okay.

“Minghao,” he whispered into the phone. 

“I’ll be over in five minutes,” Minghao said, things rustling in the background. 

Junhui opened the door to the frantically pounding boy swallowed in a the largest of Wonwoo’s sweater that even hung off one shoulder on Wonwoo, eyes red, cheeks shiny with dried tears. “Minghao, it hurts,” Junhui whined.

Minghao pulled him to the couch, letting Junhui place his head in Minghao’s lap. “He called.”

“What’d he say?” Minghao low-key ready to cut a bitch.

“We’re still together, but,” Junhui cut off, rubbing his face. “His request for leave was approved, but his mom is sick and he doesn’t have enough time to come visit for our anniversary, or even at all. I know I’m being selfish, but, you know.”   
Minghao nodded, ruffling Junhui’s hair. “You know what? We’re going out. Get you out of the dumps.” Minghao pulled Junhui off the couch and into his car.    
Junhui still wearing a pair of joggers and baggy sweatshirt grimaced at his outfit. “Can I at least change before we go to wherever you’re kidnapping me too?”

“No, Mingyu has clothes you can borrow.”

“Why are we going with Mingyu?”

“I wanted to surprise you with this when we met at the cafe later today because Wonwoo emailed me about your lowkey sad bouts, but I guess spontaneous is better. I’m so glad Mingyu’s a rich bitch,” he said, pulling up to his house he shared with Mingyu, one of Junhui’s coworker friends.    
“Mingyu,” he shouted into the large house. Mingyu appeared at the top of the stairs, carrying two large suitcases. “Change of planes, pack some of the clothes you aren’t going to wear for Junhui and call a dog sitter for Riceball, Junhui needs a surprise.” 

Junhui sat on a plush love seat, confused as Minghao gathered Mingyu’s clothes, some still with the price tag on them, into a suitcase while Mingyu called his sister to watch Riceball for two weeks.

 

Junhui still had no idea what was going on, even when he sat first class on an airplane headed to California. Junhui still had no idea how Minghao acquired his passport. “I have my ways, Jun,” he said, after Junhui tried to use the excuse of not having a passport. 

Halfway through the flight, Minghao finally spilled the beans after Mingyu persistently bugged him enough times.

“We’re staying in LA for two weeks, all expenses paid by Mingyu’s daddy,” Minghao simply stated.    
Junhui opened his mouth, to protest. Wonwoo doesn’t know he’s heading to California, what if he called? What about his work? He hated having spontaneous friends.   
“And don’t worry about work, Mingyu’s dad knows about it. And don’t worry about lover boy, I emailed him yesterday that we were taking you to LA to make you happy again.”

Junhui rolled his eyes, finally settling back and stretching his limbs in his more-than-enough leg room first-class seat. “This seems like an extremely spontaneous decision only cliche movies do.”

“Yes, yes it is,” Minghao mumbled from across the aisle, slipping on a pair of sunglasses, blocking out the bright sunlight streaming from an open window. His head slowly nodded off and fell to his right onto Mingyu’s shoulder. Junhui watched his boyfriend’s friend shoulders tense as the smaller made a comfy pillow out of the large male. Even through his bouts of depression, Junhui could easily tell Mingyu had a thing for his best friend ever since Junhui brought him into his work place. Mingyu forcefully relaxed himself and turned to focus all his attention on the movie playing in front of him, occasionally stealing glances at the sleeping male.

First-class had its perks though, complimentary wifi, easily paid for by Mingyu’s dad’s card, he scrolled through recent emails sent by his friends from the dance company he recreationally danced at with Wonwoo. One in particular caught his attention,  _ From: Wonwoo <3 _

Clicking on it, Junhui gripped his sleeve, taking in a couple deep breaths to compose himself, hoping he wouldn’t end up in an emotional wreck. 

_ Junnie,  _

_ Minghao told me about the trip you’re probably on right now, please enjoy it. I hate it when you're sad. Live it like I’m with you because I love your smile, especially when your dimple.  _

_ I’m sorry to say, but they’re moving me to a different post for a short while, but it could be as short as a few days or as long as a couple months. Which shouldn’t be a problem, but it’s in a distant region and communication will be hard. I won’t be able to call and letters will be hard to send and receive. _

_ This is my last email for a while. Junnie, don’t cry, I know you want to, but I love you so much, you’re going to LA for God’s sake. Please smile and be happy. _

_ I will try to send letters as much as possible before they send me back to civilized posts. _

_ Love you so, so much, _

_ Wonwoo _

Junhui knew the waterworks were coming as he quickly got up on shaky legs, stumbling to the first-class bathroom, thankful for the extra space for him so sit down on the toilet and bury his face in his hands. His shoulders shook as the plane vibrated from turbulence. A soft knock sounded at the door, Junhui instantly knew it was Minghao. Reluctantly opening the door, Minghao gave him a soft smile.

“I kicked Mingyu out so you can sit next to me.” Junhui smiled softly, gripping Minghao’s hand as the smaller led them back to the seats, Mingyu looking a bit annoyed as Junhui snuggled up next to Minghao as Minghao carded his fingers through the thick blonde hair, soothing the older boy as he closed his eyes. Sighing Junhui adjusted his head to rest more comfortably on Minghao neck.

“I’m tired of crying,” he whispered.

“I know, I know,” Minghao said, ruffling more hair.  

He wanted to be the strong person Wonwoo loved him for.

 

LA was sunny and bright as Minghao ordered Mingyu to gather all their luggage onto the luggage stroller as Minghao coddled Junhui like a baby. 

“What are we going to do here?” Junhui asked, softly, breathing heavily through his nose. 

“Well, our friend is visiting family here, Jisoo, and we decided to stay with them for the first night before staying at a beachside hotel close enough to all the Asian shit to hang with Jisoo.”

Junhui hummed a response and closed his eyes again, he was tired. 

Surprisingly, Mingyu was trusted with the task of driving the rental car. Junhui laid in the backseat while Minghao was the designated GPS. He smiled at the couple bantering in the front over directions, it reminded him of him and Wonwoo’s spontaneous road trips. Wonwoo always happily driving, argueing with Junhui when his instructions led them down a sketchy road, singing loudly to Super Junior, rolling the windows down for hair to blow around. He missed Wonwoo so much. 

The trio arrived tired and disgruntled at the front of cozy looking house with bamboo plants in oriental style pots and a fresh garden peeking out of the back. Minghao banged at the door as Mingyu struggled to bring in all the suitcases. 

A tired, yet cheerful young man opened the door, an older couple sitting in the living room waving at the group of young men. “Hey guys!” hey greeted cheerfully. “Welcome to America!”

The house was a little small, but had a very homey and cozy feeling. There was only one extra room which Mingyu disgruntledly let Junhui share with Minghao. Junhui laid on the smallish bed, leaning close to Minghao.    
“You okay?” Minghao asked in the darkness of the night. 

Junhui nodded, remembering Minghao didn’t press him for answers on the plane. One more reason why Minghao was a great friend. “Wonwoo’s being transferred, we won’t be able to talk or email for a while, it just sucks.”

Brushing a hand up Junhui’s face, “You’ll be okay, Jun. Wonwoo knows it, I know it, one more year.”   
“I know,” Junhui replied. “Thank you.”

 

Wonwoo was right. Junhui had the time of his life in LA, having a great time roaming Korea and Chinatown. Or just hanging out in the Western parts of LA, with Jisoo as their faithful guide. 

They explored beaches, went to the zoo and aquarium, Mingyu even revealed tickets for some popular Western pop star. Minghao, being Junhui’s best friend, specially designing an adorable recreation of Wonwoo in plushie form.

“It’ll be like he’s here, take selfies with him.” 

Junhui found a new cuddle buddy during the sleepless nights. Curling around the plushie even with the round glasses he loved so much. 

One highlight of the trip was heading into Hollywood. Junhui never had so many people stop him for pictures and autographs only to be met with the disappointment that he was not in fact Heechul. Some good hearted folks still took the selfie with him while others lowkey hit on him, which Jisoo had to awkwardly translate Junhui was in fact dating someone. 

The last night of the trip, Junhui had roamed out of the hotel room, after Mingyu had desperately convinced Minghao to go out for one last rendezvous in the American streets. Junhui had politely declined, much to Mingyu’s happiness and opted for a quiet stroll on the beach with the beautiful sunset. 

He released a deep breath as he sat down on the beach, not caring about the sand on his butt. A tear rolled down his cheek.

“You okay?”

Junhui turned around to see Mingyu walk towards him, strangely Minghao-less. “Where’s Minghao?” he teased. 

“Tired, told me to make sure you weren’t dead.”   
“To think you actually cared about your best friend’s heart broken boyfriend.”

“I do care,” Mingyu said, taking a seat next to Junhui, patting his back in such a bro-way. “You made Wonwoo so happy. I remember the first time he met you at the cafe where you accidently grabbed his drink. He kept rambling on and on about this cute boy who just moved here and spoke so cutely.”   
“Hey! I was still learning Korean.”

“He about peed himself when he visited our work for the first time to find out you were the new Chinese transfer. He was so worried about you rejecting his way of asking you out.”

Junhui laughed. “I loved it though, he bought a shitty Chinese novel just to do blackout poetry that said  _ Will you go out with me? _ ”

“I know that, he told me like thirty times, making sure he crossed out the right things. But seriously, you’re like a brother to me. You’ve made Wonwoo so happy, it’s not even funny. And I don’t want you to be hung over him and crawl back into the shell he spent forever coaxing you out.”

“Thank you Mingyu,”Junhui replied genuinely. “Real talk though, when are you going to ask Minghao out?”

Mingyu’s face turned a dark shade of red, “Um, does he even like me back?”   
Junhui smiled into the sun, reminiscing on the times Minghao ranted about the tanner boy. “Yes, as a matter of fact, he does.”

 

Jet lagged and cranky, Junhui happily picked Riceball up in the golden evening from Mingyu’s sister who pet sitted for him. She refused a payment, saying two weeks with a cute puppy was enough.

“Hey Jun,” Minghao called from the car as they dropped Junhui off at his apartment. “You should check out the garden with Riceball before you go back, I heard they put in a new structure. We’ll meet at your room with the luggage after.”

“But I’m tired,” Junhui protested.

Minghao narrowed his eyes, “Just do it.”

Junhui grumbled, but pulled on Riceball’s leash to the garden. It still looked the same, the rose bushes in full bloom next to the slow moving creek. 

Stepping closer to creek, maybe they added more fish into the pond. Someone grabbed him from behind.

Junhui’s heart lept out of his chest, he almost expected a prank by Minghao, but this person was bigger, more muscled, and Mingyu would definitely not touch him like this. 

Relaxing slowly, “Wonwoo?”

He felt the grip tighten as Riceball’s tail moved in a flurry of white. “How'd you know?” 

Junhui whipped around, staring up at his boyfriend dressed in his military outfit, he curled his arms around Wonwoo. “I know my boyfriend,” he whispered, tears rolling down his cheek.

Junhui brought him down for a tight hug, shoulder’s shaking as he pushed his face into Wonwoo’s neck. Wonwoo pulled them down to sit in their spot next to the creek. Riceball happily wiggled her little body in between them, jumping up to lick Wonwoo’s face. 

“How’d you get leave?”

Wonwoo’s thumb reached up to brush Junhui’s tears away. “They approved my next six month leave request a day after my transfer, I arrived this morning. Plus my team is being moved back to our original post, we’ll be able to talk more.”

“I love you,” Junhui blurted out.

“I know, I know Junnie. I love you, too.”

The next five days were just as great as LA, Wonwoo happily filled the empty place on the bed, filled the empty silence with his humming as they danced around each other in the kitchen. He laughed at the plushie Minghao had gave him and hugged Junhui as he showed the selfies he took with Wonwoo plushie. Junhui woke up to morning kisses and fell asleep with cuddles, Riceball happily sitting in between them.

But like vacations, they end all too quickly. It was like another cycle of the circle, Junhui was standing in the airport, Minghao soothingly patting his back as he watched Wonwoo leave for his post.    
But this time, there was less tears, there was less of Junhui hiding in Wonwoo’s sweaters. This time, he lived his life for Wonwoo.

 

( _ I’d wait for you forever,  _

_ But seven hundred and thirty days (minus five days of leave) _

_ Is long enough for me. _

“It’s long enough for me, too, Junnie. I missed you.”   
“I missed you, too, military boy.”)

**Author's Note:**

> scream with me on [tumblr](http://minimumobsession.tumblr.com/)  
> ;0->-


End file.
